The remains of a newborn, who authorities believe to be about a month old, were discovered in a baby box at the Church of San Giovanni Battista in Bari, southern Italy. Baby boxes were introduced in 2006 as a way for women unable to care for their infants to leave them anonymously in heated cribs at hospitals and churches. Father Ruccia, who unfortunately discovered the body, said that the baby box at San Giovanni Battista was last used in December 2023, when a baby girl, later named Maria Grazia, was safely left.
The sad discovery was made by a local funeral home director walking by the church. The box is designed to notify the parish priest when a baby is left. However in this case the alarm was not triggered. Father Antonio Ruccia, who was on duty at the time, explained to reporters that the box is supposed to notify him and automatically heat itself when a baby is detected.
The funeral director noticed that the box had been disturbed, and notified the priest who consequently contacted the authorities. Police are unsure if a system malfunction prevented the alarm from working or if the baby was already deceased when left in the box. Detectives noted that whoever abandoned the child failed to properly close the door, which may have affected the system’s functionality.
A full post-mortem examination will determine the cause and timing of the infant’s death. The priest remarked, “No one can imagine the pain of realizing you cannot care for your little one.” The catholic church has been running programs like this since the 13th century. In the Middle Ages, infants were left in a “ruota” or wheels embedded in church walls. The practice remained in place until the 1950s when children’s homes closed.
Catholics have long been involved in medicine and healthcare. As we reported, the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services accuses Walter Reed National Military Medical Center of denying Catholic service members and veterans their right to practice their religion. The Military Hospital canceled a contract with the Catholic group and issued a “cease and desist” order to Holy Name College Friary. This Franciscan group has served at Walter Reed for over 20 years.
St. Pope John Paul II created the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services to provide church services to veterans and service members across the globe. The archdiocese has no geographical boundaries and serves in dozens of military hospitals and VA centers. They are responsible for serving 1.8 million Catholics across the globe.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio said in a statement “It is incomprehensible that essential pastoral care is taken away from the sick and the aged when it was so readily available.“ They requested to have the ministry reinstated through easter, but have not received a response. He went on to explain “This is a classic case where the adage ‘If it is not broken, do not fix it’ applies. I fear that giving a contract to the lowest bidder overlooked the fact that the bidder cannot provide the necessary service,” he said. “I earnestly hope that this disdain for the sick will be remedied at once and their First Amendment rights will be respected.”
Featured image: Nicolabel, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons